July 15

Births

1944: Millie Jackson (R&B Singer)

1945: Peter Lewis (Guitar for Moby Grape)

1946: Linda Ronstadt (Rock Singer)

1948: Artimus Pyle (Drums for Lynyrd Skynyrd)

1952: Jeff Carlisi (Guitar for .38 Special)

1952: Johnny Thunders (John Genzale) (Guitar for The New York Dolls & Solo)

1952: David Pack (Guitar & Vocals for Ambrosia)

1953: Alicia Bridges (Disco Singer)

1956: Ian Curtis (Vocals for Joy Division)

1956: Marky Ramone (Marc Bell) (Drummer for The Ramones)

1956: Joe Satriani (Guitarist)

1966: Jason Bonham (Drummer & Son of John Bonham)

1973: John Dolmayan (Drummer for System of a Down)

1976: Jim Jones (Rapper)

1977: Ray Toro (Lead Guitar for My Chemical Romance)

Events

1952: An eight-year-old singer named Gladys Knight appears on the popular TV show Ted Mack's Amateur Hour, show on the now-defunct Dumont Television Network, and wins the first prize of $2000 for her rendition of Nat King Cole's "Too Young." In five years, she would be an established recording artist.

1952: Popular singer Patti Page begins her summer replacement series on CBS, attempting to hold the audience in Perry Como's usual time slot three times a week for 15 minutes.

1958: While visiting her sister Mimi's house (where her son John now lived), Julia Lennon walks down Menlove Avenue to catch the bus and is struck by a car driven by an off-duty constable still learning to drive. The officer is eventually cleared of all charges, leading Mimi to scream "Murderer!" at him; The 17-year-old John is so distraught at her funeral service that he lays his head on Mimi's lap the entire time. (Ironically, the constable in question would later become a postman with a route that included Paul McCartney's boyhood home.) Several Beatles and Lennon songs are dedicated to or inspired by Julia, including "Julia," "Mother," and "My Mummy's Dead."

1963: Elvis begins filming his 15th film, Viva Las Vegas, with Ann-Margret.

1968: The Beatles' new enterprise, Apple, enters its new corporate headquarters on 3 Savile Row, London, later the site of their famous "rooftop concert."

1972: Elton John started a five week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Honky Chateau', his first US chart topper.

1973: The Edgar Winter Group, Sly & The Family Stone, Canned Heat, Lindisfarne and The Kinks all appear at The Great Western Express festival at White City, west London. With his wife having recently walked out of their marriage, taking their young children with her, Ray Davies of The Kinks announces from the stage that he is sick of the whole thing and is retiring. He then walks into a local hospital and collapses from an overdose of tranquillizers. Davies would return to the stage a week later.

1986: Columbia Records, Johnny Cash's home for 28 years, drops the singer from its roster of artists. Johnny signed with Polygram the next year.

1990: Troy Dixon (Trouble T Roy) from Heavy D & The Boyz was killed from an accidental fall; he and others were partying after a concert and while dancing, Dixon lost his balance, fell from a balcony, hit his head, and died at a hospital.

1994: Phil Collins announced that he was seeking a divorce from his wife Jill.

1995: Sinead O'Connor dropped out of Lollapalooza because she was pregnant. She was replaced with Elastica.

1998: Aerosmith were forced to cancel a forthcoming US tour after Joey Kramer was involved in a freak accident. The drummer's car set on fire and was completely destroyed as he was filling up with petrol. He was admitted to hospital with second-degree burns.

1999: The Rolling Stones report income of $337 million in the last two years, a result of 147 concerts in front of nearly six million fans.

2000: Bob Seger's 62-foot boat Lightning wins its division in the 78th annual sailboat race from Port Huron to Mackinac Island, MI.

2004: U2 called in police after thieves stole a copy of the bands latest album 'Vertigo'. The CD was stolen during a photo shoot with the band in the south of France.

2005: Victor Edward Willis, the original policeman in the Village People, was arrested after police found a gun and drugs in his convertible in Daly City, south of San Francisco. Willis also had an outstanding $15,000 felony warrant for possession of narcotics.

2007: Over 10,000 people applied for a job with P Diddy after the rapper posted an advert on Youtube looking to find a new personal assistant. He warned applicants that the job would be far from easy and would involve everything from getting him ready for the red carpet to aiding in billion dollar deals to helping him jump out of planes in movies.

2010: In Massachusettes, Aerosmith Guitarist Joe Perry was rear-ended by a car while riding his motorcyle. He was treated for minor injuries.

2010: Pink suffered minor injuries during a concert when she was dragged into barricades on the stage.

2011: Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony split after seven years of marriage.